The UN released its annual report on armed conflict in Afghanistan this past week. Within the 85-page study were numbers indicating a significant uptick in drone-related operations in the country compared to the year prior.
A UN report indicates an increase in drone attacks in Afghanistan compared to a year ago.
Specifically, the report states that the unmanned, highly-advanced aerial vehicles released a total of 506 weapons in Afghanistan during the calendar year 2012, up from 294 in 2011 — a 72% increase.
Despite this increase in activity, the report — which specifically highlights civilian casualties — concluded that drones were not a significant contributor to the deaths of Afghan civilians in 2012, as the technology totaled 16 civilian deaths and three injuries for the year, up from one documented incident in 2011. A portion of the 2012 civilian deaths were the result of “targeting errors”, the most significant of which involved four children who were several miles away from a ground battle between pro-government forces and insurgents.
As countries continue to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan, including President Obama’s vow in his recent State of the Union Speech to remove 34,000 additional troops, use of this technology is likely to continue to increase well into the foreseeable future. The UN appears to be aware of this trend, stating within the report:
A need to review tactical and operational policy relating to targeting to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law may be of particular relevance with the expansion of the use of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (drones) in pre-planned attacks in Afghanistan.
Download the full UN report below.
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